Passenger interior floor plans conventionally allow a limited degree of customization if little structural rework is desired. Usually aircraft interior fixtures can be installed for smaller executive jets on areas defined exclusively for monuments and seat assemblies can be installed on areas defined for seat assemblies. If an area is defined to accommodate a wardrobe, for example, only a wardrobe or a similar monument can be installed in the same area.
Larger executive jets typically allow more customized configurations, but structural rework is required in order to provide the necessary attachment points. Modules, in this case, are not clearly defined as monument and/or seat arrangements designed to be installed in a marked zone of the aircraft. Especially in the Executive Jets market, the possibility of floor plan customization is a very important requirement for the customer. A modular interior configuration greatly improves the possibility of customization since different aircraft interior fixtures can be arranged on the same position inside a defined zone.
Flexible interior fixture placement within an aircraft becomes problematic for aircraft having symmetrically arranged pairs of longitudinal attachment tracks, wherein the tracks are separated by unequal dimensions. This particular arrangement of seat tracks has in the past necessitated dedicated seat assemblies and/or monuments for dedicated rail pairs in order to achieve a desired interior configuration.
It would therefore be desirable if aircraft interior fixture arrangement could be provided having greater universal orientation capabilities which in turn could provide for greater flexibility of fixture placements within the aircraft interior to achieve different configurations. It is towards fulfilling such needs that the present invention is directed.
Broadly, embodiments of the present invention generally provide for a modular configuration for the aircraft interior floor plan design. The modular configuration allows a higher level of interior customization for the owner, who can choose between a number of pre-defined aircraft interior fixture arrangements inside a limited zone of the aircraft. These zones have structural provisions that allow the installation of the different interior fixtures on different positions inside the aircraft fuselage.
In especially preferred embodiments of the invention, aircraft are provided comprising a fuselage having starboard and port side attachment rails disposed longitudinally parallel to one another. Each of the starboard and port side attachment rails may be comprised of outboard and inboard rails and a center rail positioned therebetween. A plurality of interior fixtures may be provided with fixed attachment posts asymmetrically oriented relative to a longitudinal centerline plane of the fixture. Such fixtures can therefore be attached to predetermined pairs of the starboard and port side attachment rails to provide for a desired configuration of the fixtures within the fuselage.
The fixtures may include at least one selected from the group consisting of single passenger seat assemblies, dual passenger seat assemblies, table assemblies and sofa assemblies. In some embodiments, the fixtures will include at least one fixture selected from the group consisting of single seat assemblies, dual seat assemblies and sofa assemblies, wherein each of the single seat assemblies, dual seat assemblies and sofa assemblies have fixed attachment posts which are asymmetrically off-set in an outboard direction relative to longitudinal centerline planes thereof.
In other embodiments, the fixtures will include at least one of single and dual seat assemblies and at least one of single and dual seat table assemblies positioned symmetrically in front of a respective one of the single and dual seat assemblies, wherein each of the single and dual seat table assemblies have fixed attachment posts which are asymmetrically off-set in an inboard direction relative to centerline planes thereof to allow symmetrical positioning in front of the single and dual seat assemblies, respectively.
The fixtures may also include a sofa assembly. In those embodiments having a sofa assembly, it will preferably be provided with fixed attachment posts which are asymmetrically off-set in an outboard direction relative to a longitudinal centerline plane thereof.
Each of the outboard and center rails of the starboard and port rails is preferably separated by a dimension Do, and wherein the each of the inboard and center rails of the starboard and port rails is separated by a dimension Di which is greater dimension Do. In addition, it is preferred that each of the inboard rails of the starboard and port rails is separated by a dimension Dc which is greater than Di. Thus in some embodiments, Dc>Di>Do.
These and other aspects and advantages will become more apparent after careful consideration is given to the following detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments thereof.